International tourism saw a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million arrivals recorded, the update from the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer revealed. The sector has recovered by about 46 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
The recovery was led by Europe and the Americas which saw robust performance in April (+458 percent), reflecting a busy Easter period. However, the strong rebound is measured against weak results in 2021 and arrivals remain overall 36 percent and 40 percent below 2019 levels in both regions.
“The recovery of tourism has gathered pace in many parts of the world, weathering the challenges standing in its way,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili in a statement today.
He cautioned that the economic headwinds and geopolitical challenges could impact the sector in the remainder of 2022 and beyond.
Analysis of scenarios by region shows Europe and the Americas recording the best tourism results in 2022, while Asia and the Pacific are expected to lag behind due to more restrictive travel policies. International tourist arrivals in Europe could climb to 65 percent or 80 percent of 2019 levels in 2022, depending on various conditions, the UNWTO said.
